Life Lately Update

Happy Friends!

We are finally sharing some life updates with you all today! The start of January was busier than planned so we are just now taking time to put together a little 411 for y’all. It’s so hard to believe it’s already 2021! Before we get started on sharing our updates we also had to let you all know these super cute Express outfits are on sale! The coats, jeans & sweater are all included in the 40-60% off promo going on and we’ve linked them at the end of our post so head there for details.

Whitney’s Updates:

I’m so excited for a new year and getting a fresh start when it comes to being organized, spending even more time with my family and taking care of myself! I spent all of 2020 working hard to go to bed earlier and wake up earlier and I can say it definitely paid off. Not only did I feel more rested but it also allowed me to get more done

Due to Hashimoto’s, I also changed to a gluten free diet starting in December 2019 and stuck with it all of 2020. It made a big difference for me! Between that change, getting more sleep and some new supplements I added to my routine {I will share a full post on this later}, I feeling much better compared to past years. So I’m definitely going to stick with it!

As for another personal update, I finally decided to get gum grafting surgery this summer after putting it off for years. I was born without a permanent molar on the lower left so I have a tooth implant there. Well over the years the gum tissue wore away {it’s a common thing where you’ve hand an implant thanks to bone loss that often accompanies it} and my doctor said I would need to get a graft there before I moved forward with Invisalign. So several years later I finally got it done and I’m glad! The recovery was pretty rough for about a week since you can risk moving the graft or else it won’t heal. But glad it’s done and now I’m on week 10 of my Invisalign treatment!

As far as other family updates go, I’m so thankful my little girls have the opportunity to go back to dance, piano and sports this school year. I don’t show them on the blog or social media, but any free time I have goes to taking them to their practices and games, helping with homework, etc. They are such fun ages and I love being a girl mom so much. Volleyball, soccer, basketball piano, art and tap classes keep the schedule full but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

As far as the business side of things go, Linds and I are grateful we had our best year yet! We’ve been blogging for nearly nine years now and we can’t wait to have a big celebration this March! We had some really fun opportunities last year that came our way and it definitely helped us stay positive through an otherwise stressful time.

I’m also so excited to share that I’m finally going to have a business space all of my own! I’ve worked from home for so many years now {for both blogging and my previous full time job in marketing} and it’s been challenging to always mix business with a home space. My hubby and I finally decided it was time to make a space just for me! It’s a 300 square foot office {and it even has a loft!} next to our home that will be perfect for two desks, photos shoots, try on sessions and of course all the clothing, shoes and bags that come along with having a fashion blog. I can’t wait to share a look at the behind the scenes of it all so stay tuned!

Lindsay’s Updates:

Navigating 2020 with a new baby was definitely a challenge, but I’m excited for a fresh start to a new year too! My little girl is 15 months now (how is it possible?!)! She is the sweetest little baby and loves to jabber on all day! She was an early walker, so she definitely keeps us on our toes. Though my girls are 6 years apart, it’s sweet to see how great they do together and love each other. She is always so happy when sister gets home from school! 🙂

We are still in the process of remodeling our 30 year old modern brick home on an acreage. We moved during my third trimester and had no idea HOW MUCH work was left on this home. Don’t get me wrong, we LOVE it! The land is so gorgeous and relaxing (my backyard is in these fun snow pics), but every inch of the house needed an update. And remodeling is SO hard when you have 2 kids at home, work from home, plus with navigating COVID and contractors etc. I think we’ve come a long way though!

So far we’ve re-floored the entire downstairs, painted every inch, replaced the carpet upstairs, plus turned one large art room ( from the previous owner) into 2 bedrooms and bathroom for my girls. They are so excited about their new rooms! We also replaced the front door with a custom x design iron door to bring in more light to the house, tore out the kitchen counters and backsplash and replaced those, and the list goes on and on lol! But as many of ya’ll know, remodeling is hard work and gets expensive quickly! I’m was able to photograph the girl’s new rooms last week and should have that up on the blog soon yay! Next up will be the kitchen remodel reveal, planning for our new fireplace, and installing a fabulous California Closet wall in my office! 🙂

I also decided to take this semester off from teaching. If you are a long time reader, then you may know that I’ve been an adjunct instructor for the last 10 years. I’m also a Registered Dietitian and have loved teaching introduction to nutrition, lifecycle nutrition, as well as community nutrition programs. But due to limited childcare and extra hours needed for blog projects, I decided to take this semester off. I will definitely miss teaching, but I’m sure I’ll back before the year end.

On a not so positive note, I found out that I will need Mohs surgery for a basal cell carcinoma spot on my cheek. The test results definitely came as a surprise. I had a spot between my nose and under eye that looked like a cyst but more raised and almost clear?! It would just not go away after several months and I decided to have it checked and they did the biopsy right away. I am definitely a little worried about the surgery since the recovery requires a lifting limit that my baby is well above! I know so many people have to have this procedure done, but it’s nerve wrecking! They said due to the location, I will have to see a plastic surgeon after they remove the growth to have stitches placed. So I’ll have a week of down time with no lifting, no makeup etc. Whitney is going to help me with the baby so here’s to the week going by quickly!

I’m also coming up on my annual Hashimotos follow-up. Whitney and I have been diagnosed for about 7 years now. Thankfully we have managed symptoms fairly well with our medication, lifestyle and nutrition changes. I’m currently dairy and gluten free for Hashimoto’s as well as baby E’s allergies since I’m still nursing. We could write a whole post about the journey, but we will save that for another day.

Last but not least, I just finished my first round of Invisalign, yay! I’m currently waiting for them to make my first set of refinement trays. I’m not sure how many trays I’ll have. but I’m excited I’m getting near the finish the line. The process has been super easy and so glad that I decided to start it.

Whew, thank you for hanging with us this far! We wanted to thank our loyal readers for coming back to read our posts and support us keeping The Double Take Girls going forward! We are excited to bring you along for what we hope is another fun year! Now up next.. outfit details!

Shop Lindsay’s Outfit: (Size down in coat if between sizes)

Shop Whitney’s Outfit: (Size down in coat if between sizes)

Thank you for stopping by today! And we would love for you to leave a comment below on new things you’d like us to bring to the blog this year!

xx,

Lindsay & Whitney